JANE AUSTEN was born in 1775 in Hampshire, England, to George Austen, the rector of Steventonm, and his wife, Cassandra. Like many girls of her day, she was educated at home, and began her literary career by writing parodies and skits for the amusement of her large familiy. Although Austen did not marry, she did have several suitors and once accepted a marriage proposal-but only for one evening. Austen nver lived apart from her family, but her work nevertheless shouws a worldly and wise sensibility. Her novels include Sense and Sensibility(1811), Pride and Prejudice(1813) , Mansfield Park(1814), Emma(1816), and Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, published together posthumously in 1818. Austen died in 1817.